Aaron St. Pierre, director of landscape architecture for LOSE Design, briefs Salem City Council on March 8 on proposed renovations for Moyer Sports Complex.
Meg Hibbert
Contributing writer
Since the James I. Moyer Sports Complex was dedicated 29 years ago, not much has been spent to upgrade the facility. Council was briefed about proposed $12 million renovations and improvements Monday night at a work session preceding the regular meeting.
Consultant Aaron St. Pierre of LOSE Design showed possibilities for the complex in a 30-minute visual presentation. If approved, the work would be done in 2022 when the city is not booking any softball and baseball tournaments. It would re-open in March 2023, Salem Parks and Recreation Director John Shaner told Council.
He pointed out that sports marketing was the only thing recession-proof in the 2008 recession and again during the pandemic. Moyer and the Roanoke Valley hosted more tournaments than the state of Virginia in 2008, Shaner said. Now is the time to reinvest money back into Moyer, St. Pierre told Council.
Newer, more modern facilities have been built and Salem needs to keep up, he said.
The proposals St. Pierre showed Council had three tiers.
- Tier 1, at $4 million, would include essential renovations critical to facility operations, such as two shaded areas for spectators, improvements to existing parking, a renovated entry plaza and a monument sign at the entry into the park;
- Tier 2, at $2 million, would be preferred renovations to enhance market competition, St. Pierre said. Those would include an officials’ changing room and showers, portable ticket stations, expanded concession stands, an elevator tower to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and upgraded lighting;
- Tier 3, at $6 million, would be supplemental to further enhanced renovations, St. Pierre explained. Those would include a baseball-themed community playground, two more shade structures, and building pickleball courts where the Food Pantry now is.
All four fields would be regraded, new grass turf and irrigation, Shaner said.
Some of the nearby sports complexes Moyer is competing against to snag national and regional tournaments, St. Pierre showed, were Tyger River in Spartanburg, SC; Grand Park Athletic Complex in Myrtle Beach; Winger Deer Park in Johnson City, Tenn.; Walnut Creek Athletic Complex in Raleigh, and others that have more fields and amenities than Salem.
City Manager Jay Taliaferro will follow up with Council after members have time to digest the proposals, he said. ‘We are comfortable with Tier 1 and 2,” he added.